We couldn’t have asked for a better subject for our First Photos of 2009 than this. Mary Katherine & Ben, a wedding couple of ours from several years ago, welcomed their *beautiful* baby girl “McLaurin” into the world over the holidays and we had the incredible honor of taking her first photos. SHE. IS. GORGEOUS.
Congratulations, MK & Ben!!!
We had the pleasure of shooting Ryan’s sister’s wedding a few years back, and it was SUCH a joy seeing everyone again and meeting new friends at Amy & Ryan’s wedding. We were looking forward to this wedding for so long, not only because they are such awesome people, but also because the location of their wedding looked so much different than the scenes we’re used to shooting. Their wedding included a stop in Paynes Prairie a beautiful area just south of Gainesville. We were a little worried the morning of the wedding because a cold front was moving through and, with it, rain…but the skies cleared up right in time and the wedding was perfect.
They got ready in a hotel in Gainesville before traveling south to their church for the ceremony:
The guys met us at an old post office right down the street from the church. It was an amazing location with so much history!
And then it was time for the ceremony!
And then it was off to the reception!
We had such a wonderful time at the wedding, and it was *so* wonderful seeing everyone again. Thank you for a beautiful day, guys!!
When I left after my initial consultation with Lainey, I knew I had just met someone special. Getting to work with her and her fabulous husband, Wes, on their wedding day simply confirmed that for me. There is a muse-like quality to them, and the fluidity they allowed for during the day made the day feel relaxed and slightly surreal.
The day began at their ceremony location of Chapel by the Sea in St. Petersburg:
Then we moved on to the beach across the street, where we *literally* let them run wild and do their own thing. There was a champagne/beer toast, group shots dictated by the group, and spontaneous outbursts of laughter and picking each other up. We had no control, which made it the most liberating and enjoyable “formals” photo session we’ve ever done. If anyone would like to do a post-ceremony family/bridal party photo session like this, just tell us you want to do a Lainey/Wes. We’ll know what you mean. And we’ll probably smile a whole lot…
From there we moved on to the Nova 535 art lounge for their reception. It was such an awesome atmosphere with their images up on the gallery walls along with the rest of the art! Kudos to Michael for such a great place. The party took over in full force, and everyone had a wonderful time:
Thank you so much to Lainey & Wes for allowing us to be a part of this incredible wedding, and to Sandy Rule () for putting everything together so beautifully. It was such a pleasure to work with everyone!
Greetings, friends! It amazes me that we are already half-way through our 3 week long trip abroad, but am happy to say that we have been enjoying every second of it! I’ve been relieved to be able to respond to our clients, friends and family just as easily as I can from the States – with our trusty MacBook Pro joining us on the trip and the proliferation of free WiFi hotspots, I’m as happy as a…lark? Is that the expression? It sounds weird. I’ll look it up. Later.
For now, though, I thought I’d kill several hundred requests to see photos of our trip so far with one swift blog post. So I’m going to share some images and insights I’ve gained on this, my 3rd trip to Europe and Paul’s return to his native continent. It’s a cool place, this little world over here.
Below is a look at the terrain, a photo which was a feat in and of itself, being that we shot it from a top of an ancient castle that was decidedly *not* a tourist attraction. The only people that know about it are locals. Which had it’s good and bad points. Good: no fighting through seas of tourists clicking away on their little point’n’shoot cameras which are so small you don’t even realize they’re taking a photo until the last second when you’ve walked in front of them and happen to look over in terror as they *click* the shutter. There you are, immortalized forever in some strangers photo that they will forever look at and curse your face, the face that has the frozen look of terror, as the reason they’ll never the remember the beauty of… (insert name of chosen tourist trap here). So, not having to deal with that was pretty grand. The bad point is, however, that there’s minimal upkeep and no safety precautions, and, though its historical elements are still very much intact, the wooden staircase leading up the tower was very much…not. Hence the pride in being able to shoot the below shot while balancing camera bag, camera, hiking bag, and self, while teetering on a rotted out step tentatively braced 200 feet above, well, the torture chamber in the dungeon. What better than a blunt object with spiky appendages from the Dark Ages to brake your fall? Anyway, I digress. Now that you fully grasp my fear of the moment, enjoy the photos we took *just* for *you*:
So now that the scenery of the place is out of the way, here are a couple little glimpses into some of the things that have made me happy over the last week and half. First, and most importantly, THIS place:
The nights here are cold, but the days can get pretty warm, and you walk *everywhere* over here, so you can get pretty hot pretty quick. But this place has the best ice cream around. And *everyone* walking around has a cone in their hands. That’s my kind of country. It really is kind of crazy/wonderful to walk everywhere. At around $10 a GALLON for gas, the public transportation over here is fantastic for a *reason*. It has to be. But, regardless, people are just enjoying the weather too much to bother with the bus or subway. So they walk. My feet were screaming at me after the first 2 days we were here, but now I’m a walking NINJA. I love it. Here are some shots Paul got while walking to some of our destinations:
Next, they have these little egg shaped chocolates over here called “Kinder” that have a hollow center with a toy in it. It’s for kids, but, darn it, it looked like fun to eat. So I got one. What was my toy? A small, plastic, yellow “Smart Car”… a sign reaffirming my desire to make my next car an environmentally friendly one. This little car is now a resident of my travel bag. His name is Bob, and he is my secret weapon I pull out when trying to play with kids that I can’t communicate with but find myself needing to entertain over here.
And, speaking of kids, there’s something about a big camera that makes them come running. Here’s an example. I was trying to take a photo of a map of the area when these three Romany kids darted out and begged me to take their picture, while their older sister, both bemused and slightly sorry for my situation, looked on. The moment for me was a really fun one, so it’s become one of my favorite shots of the trip: 
. “Romany”, for those of you not in the know, is the PC word for “Gypsy”. I still prefer “Gypsy”, though, because it makes me think of Johnny Depp in “Chocolat”. Speaking of Johnny Depp, everyone over here seems to be *infatuated* with “Pirates of the Caribbean.” There are posters for the movie in every house, and it’s referenced frequently. It’s a little comical… but, hey, it’s Johnny Depp. So I’m not complaining.
While here, we haven’t been able to escape work altogether, and we haven’t *wanted* to, either. Here’s a shot from a band that we did a group shot for just the other day: 
After the shoot, we stuck around for their concert, and the after-party that ensued. Causing my first injury over here: a stiff neck. It was a self-inflicted injury caused, apparently, by too much head-banging. Today is the first day I can finally turn my head instead of relying on peripheral vision for the past 3 days. But, MAN. What a great night. Walked back home while watching the sunrise. Haven’t done that in about a million years…
There’s been a great deal of humor that we’ve enjoyed, too. It’s SO great traveling with Paul. After being married to him for 10 years, we end up finding the same weird things very, very funny…and the inside jokes make us practically choke with constrained laughter. For instance, Eddie Murphy is MUCH funnier here – because the voiceover dubbing attempts at mimicking his laugh are just the *best*. And by “the best”… I *do* mean “the worst.”
Also, each trip to the bathroom is an experience, because the manner in which one “flushes” the toilet is different in each new place. You end up doing some sort of strange “Flush Button Treasure Hunt”, poking and pulling anything that halfway looks like a way to flush. The “prize” at the end of finding out how to flush, is the ability to walk out of the stall undefeated. The knowledge that, in some small way, you are a better man than your cold, soulless, ceramic nemesis whose attempts at hiding the flush handle were thwarted by your brilliance. It’s small victories like that that make life just worth living, you know? 
I guess I’ll conclude by saying that it’s funny how a few days in this other world brings your life reeling back in to perspective. We’ve talked a lot while we’ve been over here about the direction we’re going and where we want to see ourselves and our business in the future. There are going to be a lot of great, solid, positive changes coming up. And it’s simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. But it’s all positive, and will impact our lives and our clients in great ways. So, that’s it! Take care, everyone! We’ll be back soon! In the meantime, just remember we’re completely reachable while we’re here. Drop us an e-mail any time!
xo,
Us
Man, this was a hard day. I mean, c’mon, beautiful bride + fun groom + gorgeous weather + great back drops = perfection. How are we supposed to work under those conditions???
…okay, I’m just kidding of course. We had an absolute blast at this wedding! I couldn’t *wait* to start editing the pictures so that I could look at them all. So let’s look at some!
They got ready at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Lake Wales, which had a great courtyard for photographs:
The inside of the church looked beautiful during the ceremony, and after the ceremony we were treated to a surprise when Katie & Sam started ringing the bell in the courtyard – that was fun!
With time tight, we almost lost the beautiful sunset light, but we got just the perfect amount of it to be able to grab some really fun shots. And they were so much fun to shoot together! You could tell the really just loved being with each other.
The reception was so much fun – rounding off a great day. Thanks again to Katie & Sam for being so much fun to work with!
This stunning wedding took place in the ever cool “South Beach” district of Miami at The Palms Hotel. And there couldn’t have been a better match for the equally cool and chilled out Denise & Jennings, who had a relaxed attitude about everything and looked so great on their wedding day. We suffered from “too much cool stuff to shoot”, and wanted the day to last twice as long so that we could keep shooting more and more! But it was a fantastic day, and we really had a blast. Here are some shots from the wedding!
We started with everyone getting ready in the rooms at The Palms:
The ceremony took place behind the hotel in their beautiful gardens gazebo:
With the last bit of sunset remaining, and against the backdrop of an unreal looking blue ocean, we stole a few minutes to get some shots of them together:
And then it was on to their great reception back indoors, where the ever-lovely coordinators Paul King and Deborah de la Iglesia were on top of everything making sure it looked beautiful:
It really was a such a pleasure to document this wedding, and we’d like to thank Denise & Jennings for letting us be a part of it!
It’s hard to believe this wedding has already come and gone! We had the pleasure of taking Shannon & David’s engagement photo over a *year* ago, so we’ve been excited about this wedding for a long time! With as much traveling as we do to get to weddings, it was actually really fun that this wedding was only about 15 minutes away from our studio. It took place in around the very lovely FishHawk Ranch, and we had the absolute pleasure of working with the fantastic wedding coordinator Kristen Tarpley of Alluring Events. (www.alluringevents.net)
Here are some of our favorites from the day:
The ceremony took place at the FishHawk Fellowship Church:
Since it was early in the day and the sun was way too brutal outside after the ceremony, we had some fun with a great red couch inside the church to do some casual portraits. And it gave them a nice break from standing up for a few minutes, which obviously relieved them!
When done at the church, we made our way to FishHawk’s beautiful “Palmetto Club”, where they got a fun welcome by their guests:
The rest of the wedding was just as fun – and thanks so much to Shannon & David for letting us be a part of it!! Here are the rest of the highlights of the celebration:
This was a such a fun wedding, complete with some firsts for us! One, the wedding was in Brad’s parent’s backyard – complete with ultra cool *clear* tents! We’ve never seen that before, and it definitely added a great element visually. To be able to see the palm trees through the tent during the day, and then to have the beautiful lights they had strung up appear like stars at night was just a really cool element. And, two, Anna & Brad are both phenomenally gifted sailors, and Anna is the first bride of ours we’ve ever cheered on during… the Olympics?? That’s right! Anna is representing the USA in the Laser Radial at the 2008 Olympic Games in Qingdao, China. ROCK ON! I’ve never been so excited about the Olympics before!
Let’s do pictures!
We started this wedding at St. Cecilia’s Church in Clearwater:
After that, we moved on to the Sandpearl Resort (www.sandpearl.com) for a leisurely pre-reception lunch, with the overall goal of having a very relaxed afternoon.
After a beautiful afternoon break, it was time to head to Brad’s parent’s house, and when we walked in we were amazed with the amount of attention to detail that they had put into everything! From the personalized chocolates, to the great sailing ice sculpture, everything was set up to perfection. Even more amazing is that they pulled this off without a wedding coordinator…which is a task most *definitely* not for the faint of heart!!
Not to long after we arrived, Anna & Brad followed with their bridal party. The entire crew had hopped aboard a boat at the Clearwater Yacht Club which took them to the house. All of the guests lined up on the top of the hill to watch them drift in. The rest of the night was just as fun. Here are the rest of the photos!
Thanks again to Anna & Brad & their parents for their wonderful hospitality and the great fun that we had on their wedding day!
It always amazes me when a completely perfect day can come together so flawlessly when planned from so far away. But this wedding in Boca Grande was one of those days! The couple had a wonderfully fun personality, and everything was beautiful – from the dress to the reception layout. And it’s been a while since they’ve gotten me to cry at a wedding, but the fireworks show at the end had me pathetic. It was so incredibly moving. Let’s see some pictures!
Jessica got ready at her parents home on the island:
From there we moved on to St. Andrew’s Church for the ceremony:
Our photo session was a quick one – moving along to get them to the main event: The PARTY! (they are phenomenal dancers…)
The reception was done up gorgeously, and we were so excited to work with the wonderful coordinators again: Jody, the wedding coordinator of Designs by Jody in Chicago (www.designsbyjodyinc.com), and Terry, the Boca Bay Pass Club coordinator (www.bocabaypassclub.com).
<The reception started with toasts by Jessica’s parents, and an incredibly authentic sounding cover of Jack Johnson’s “Better When We’re Together” performed by Jessica’s brother for the first dance:
The real highlight of the day for me, though, was the emotional fireworks display that came as a complete shock to Jessica & Mark. (Her expression in the next group of photos says it all.) It was perfectly choreographed to begin at the end of Jessica’s father’s speech, and was set to a soundtrack of Jessica’s favorite song: “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. Trust me, if you were there, you would have cried, too. I’m not that crazy.
It was a beautiful experience, and thank you so much to Jessica & Mark for allowing us to be a part of such a touching day!
This wonderful couple is from England – and they brought their version of the British Invasion along with them for their wedding in St. Pete! Friends & family happily packed up to travel the 4500 miles it took to get to this wedding, and it was well worth it. It was a stunning day, and the only complaint was from Paul who needed to listen to me talk in an incredibly bad fake British accent for a week following the wedding. Have a look!
And the boys got ready and met up at the Don Cesar, too, reuniting with friends from abroad: 
The ceremony had a cool breeze and clear skies, an absolutely perfect day:
And they and their friends laughed so easily and were so fun to work with:
I only wish they lived closer so that we had the chance to photograph them and their friends more! It was a wonderful day and we loved every moment of it!
